Well it's time for a long-overdue update.
A lot has been going on even though it doesn't make for good pictures or movies.



The main thing it's been going on is bodywork, bodywork, bodywork. You never really know what's wrong until you look at it with a magnifying glass and then you see all. I got enough of the top half of the hull done that I felt it was time to start working on the bottom half. That meant it had to come off the trailer. So out came the big gantry crain and about every block that I could scrounge up. It took a little bit to figure it out being I'm used to blocking up V hulls but after a short time the trailer was out.



Again one of the main things that was holding me up is this damn deck to hull joint. It was pretty much destroyed all the way around the boat. If I knew it was going to be this much work I probably would've just picked up that rub rail and done with it. But now that it's almost done I'm kind of glad I took the extra effort to do it. Not really sure how long the last but I'm giving it my best effort.
Most of it used to look like the picture above. This is the very bow and the one area that I couldn't get to while it was on the trailer. The process has many, many steps but eventually you get to what it looks like in the picture below.



Once you got a shelf built then you built up multiple layers on the top side and bottom side, feathered into the hull so not to cause a lump. Let it set up and then do it again. Then when you get enough built-up, scribal a line on what stays and then with the grinder knockoff about 80% of what you built. I wish I knew of a better way. It seems like a waste but it's the only way I can figure with gravity and such affecting the outcome.



Tiny bit of fiberglass Bondo, some sanding, little more Bondo, more sanding and then couple layers of primer with some light sandings in-between just to smooth it out and get it in the right shape.
Even thoughI still am doing some of the topside stuff the real thing is to get the bottom side done so I can get the bottom painted and the boat back up on the trailer. So I attacked it here and there due to bad weather for a better part of a week. Seems like we get a day a sun and two days of rain and cold but I guess that's what spring is supposed to be like. The bottom required a little extra work to straighten out. It seems like who ever painted it two colors ago used a body filler that was defective or something. Even the smallest amount swelled up under the paint and cause a blister. So every spot had the ground down to the original glass and then fixed back to original. This time I used real fiberglass as much as I could and then fiberglass bondo to finish it off. I don't think it will blister again this time but all this extra work has held me up by a lot of hours.



On the cold days I've been doing a couple little side projects like trying to figure out a throttle and gear shifter. I was going to do the floor shifter thing and the foot throttle pedal and even have the foot pedal in stock but then decide to go this route. Kind of old school look and for the most part you won't be able to see it anyway being that it mounts under the side bolster padding. But it didn't turn out too bad.



Also on the cold days I figured I'd have to get the trailer fixed before it can ever put it back under the boat so there was no time like the present. Took about a whole day just to get stripped-down, everything sanded and a crap load of stuff cut off the trailer. Someone in this trailers pass must've been a welder. There were stuff that I've never seen before attached to it.



Long story short there was about 10 pounds of steel and plastic in my scrap bucket before it was all done



But with new bunks, new carpet, all the rust removed, new paint, new wiring, lights and the whole thing painted (not to mention the rebuilt hubs and new tires) it looks a lot better.



One of the main things that I've been trying to do since the day I got this boat is to make the wheels smaller and the fenders lower. Started off with taken off the dry rotted 235/15's tires and replacing them with with a lower profile 175/15's. That brought it down some but the welder guy past owner welded the fender brackets to the axel so no matter how small of a wheel I put on the fenders were going to stay in the same place. So I cut off the brackets, shorten their height and then drilled them out so I could use a couple mounting bolts with wing nuts. It wont be the easiest thing to do but now you can take to fenders off if necessary like you could originaly. Right now it's borderline on whether removing the fender would ever be needed as much as I have lowered them but we will see when it hits the water and how it floats.



Yesterday I made enough progress on the bottom to put a coat of paint on it. I then saw everything that I missed before. That dark red could really hide some stuff. After giving it a couple hours to dry and then went back at it with my spot putty and primer. Before it got dark I had enough time to wet sand the whole thing again. Today after another wipe down I got another 3 coats on it before I called it quits for the day.



Now I can finaly get it back on the trailer. I had a friend stop by and ask why I didnt do the whole thing while I was at it. I had to explain that the whole goal was get the paint done in the areas that the bunks sat on and were it would be to diffacaut to get to when on the trailer. Being I have to do the 4 spots that are under the blocks anyway. Doing it this way gives me a chance to go over everything one last time just in case.

glad to see you are moving forward. mine still looks the same although it is going to the shop in the next couple of weeks so I can finish the body work and start painting it. my engine parts are headed to the machine shop too so I guess I am moving it just doent look like it compared to yours. I have the same problem with painting as it is easy to say just paint the top and bottom and be done but much harder to do. mine is a little easier as it is a true flat so I have a break point from the bottom to the sides that is not noticable. your has some pretty wild lines especially with it being capped. mine is capped (no rubrail) also but other than the gelcoat being checked and weathered it was solid everywhere. that thing is looking good and is going be cool when it is back together.

Hey thanks compedgemarine. I hate this stage. You can work all day and look back at a couple "spots" on the deck or something. It really don't make for good pictures. Once the paint is done though it seems like things almost happen to fast to keep up with.

For those who don't like to read. lol
A movie update.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjo5hVfIUdc&feature=channel[/YOUTUBE]

not sure if I am happy or annoyed at your progress. great to see it getting done but now I feel like a slacker that mine is sitting in the garage with the cover over it. one way or another mine is going to the shop so I can start painting in the next few weeks. I have to at least make it look like I am working on it before you finish yours. looking good, cant wait to see it painted with the motor back in it, you are moving along great.
steve

Don't get mad Comp, get busy..lol
Man I cant wait until the painting is done. Putting the boat together should be fun compared to doing it.

pretty sweet project. could you slow the pics down on the video's? lots to look at and a great job, just have to be a speed viewer to see everything you are doing!

great work though. keep it up!

Hey Mark! Just had a chance to catch up on your project. Haven't seen it for a couple months. Looks like your coming along good and the boat looks great! If the weather holds out your going to be done before you know it. This looks like it's going to be a fun one!

Thanks. You can always use the pause button. I've got a lot of pictures to get in there in 6 minutes so they only get about a second each. I'm also running out of music so the next version may even have some of the older pictures edited. Sorry


Hey PJ.
Weather been sucking so bad that I almost wish it was back to February when it was nice out (lol). 4 out of 7 days these last few weeks have been a wash out. all i need is one more paint day and weather will no longer be a factor. But til then.......

I can't wait to see the finished product. I truly admire people with the skills and dedication to see this kind of project through.

Slowly but surely things are moving along.
Painting seems like it has gone on forever but I think some of it may have come to an end tonight.



Picking up from when I left off with the last update, the bottom was finished off. From there I had to get back up on a trailer so I could do the four areas where the boat sat on the blocks. I tell you the older these boats get more of a pain in the a$$ they are. I've basically given up on primer. Doesn't matter how many times I prime and block sand I still find things that have to be fixed after the first coat of paint goes on. So I played this game for couple days. And for another four or five days we had 40+ mph winds so things moved along at a snail's pace but on the positive side I don't think I've ever spent so much time on such a small area of paint.



Then the taping started. After many, many tries and many, many failures trying to get the tape right around the deck and it still not looking right I had to resort to drastic measures. I took a fine tip dry erase marker and just followed where the deck's sunkin detail was. Just stuck the marker in the crotch and made a nice smooth line from bow to transom. Then I just followed the dry erase marker with tape all the way around and erased the marker as I went. All I can say is it got it done. lol



This past Friday and Saturday I would get a couple coats of blue on and then do a little block sanding and then do a couple more thin coats. I know this is not the way that most of you would do it. But I have a theory behind the madness. The way I figure it is no matter what falls in the paint it will only be one layer deep. Then it will be wet sanded off and a another layer on top of that and the chances of a bug or something landing in the same exact spot are not likely. I hate doing it this way because it causes a lot of extra work but you got to do what you got to do to make it right. I always try to do the final layers early in the morning before things get moving around but for what I call inspection/building layers things move slow enough because of the weather. There's just not an enough time to do a layer, let it set up, wet sand, and then wait until the next morning before I can spray another layer. No matter what though there's enough paint that my buffer will take out any imperfections. I hope.
Sadly though getting a late start on Saturday kind of meant that I had a late finish. I put my last coat on about 6 PM. Look pretty damn good and I figured it was all done. I was going to cover the boat about 8 PM but I figured the chances of me rubbing the top on the wrong place out weighed the chances of rain. Should have took the chance and went with the top. Somewhere between 2 and 6 AM we must've got a sprinkle and the metallic blue paint did not like that at all. I probably could have wheeled out the watermarks in a couple weeks when the paint hardened up but I then decided on doing a little something that I saw on TV that I've always wanted do but was afraid of the outcome. Now it may be a saving grace if it works. But now there was another coat or two to be done. The scary thing was I was extremely low on paint to do it but I had no other option.



So first thing this morning after I got done throwing things was hard-core wet sanding and re-taping all the lines.
I took what was left of my Light Sapphire Metallic Blue single stage paint and mixed it up with its activator. Then I got out a can of clearcoat (that was so over full from the factory was when I opened it clearcoat fluid blew out the can) and mixed up about a quart of that with its activator. And then I added about 25 or 30% of the clear to the blue paint. Mix it up and shot it. And then for the second it was about 50-50 and for the third coat it was about 80-20 and from there I am out of paint so I hope it works.
Just to make sure it's got the best shot of working and drying properly and even though they are not call for a single drop of rain for the next 24 hours I decided to tent the whole boat after a couple hours of open drying time.
From what I saw of it it looks pretty good and I know when the clear sets and the sun to shining it's going to burn the retinas out of your head. Also on the upside after all this, adding the clear makes buffing a little less risky for single stage.
Now finally I can get to the last paint job. It may be easiest but at same time it to be the hardest. Before anything gets installed everything inside has to be painted from the transom all the way to the tip of the bow including the underside of the front deck. Most of it's a piece of cake but after putting in the bow winch eye I am not looking forward to have brush and roller in hand while smashed between the two decks. It doesn't have to be perfect because you're definitely not going to see it on a daily basis but it has to be done for the clean factor alone. And everything looks better with a coat of paint.